Uttar Pradesh on Satruday joined the Covid vaccination marathon by inoculating nearly 21,000 health workers and doctors, including more than 800 in Lucknow, on Day One of the mega pan India drive. A total of 317 vaccination centres were set up across the 75 districts of UP, according to health minister Jai Pratap Singh here. More than a million Covaxin and Covishield doses had already arrived in the state thus far. The immunisation drive started soon after the address to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning. In Lucknow, 12 vaccination centres comprised King George’s Medical University (KGMU), Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS), Balrampur Hospital, Veerangana Avantibai Hospital, Era’s Medical College, Sahara Hospital, Medanta Hospital and TS Mishra Medical College, apart from two community health centres on the city outskirts.
Amar Bahadur, a junior assistant at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU), which is among the largest medical varsities in Asia, felt a sense of pride at being the first recipient of the Covid-19 vaccine at the KGMU Centre this morning. KGMU is among the 12 vaccination centres set up in Lucknow to inoculate 1,200 health workers, including doctors, on Saturday, Day One of the mega drive. “I felt no fear or nervousness about the vaccine. The vaccination will drive away the fear of Covid-19 among the people…it will definitely subdue the pandemic,” Bahadur said after coming out of the post-vaccination observation chamber at the KGMU. He also flaunted the Covid-19 vaccination card that mentioned the second dose would be administered to him on February 15, 2021.